Tag Archives: trip

Back in February, I attended a PLDT Bossings event and won the best prize ever: a three-day, two night stay in Camp John Hay! Call me a geek, but the first thing that came to my mind was that I could work on my thesis in Baguio 😉 Nerdy me finally scheduled a thesis-writing weekend on the last week of March.

But even if I had every inclination to make this a solo trip, I wasn’t about to waste the prize. The room I was given could take a maximum of four people! So I went ahead and brought along the most obvious companions—mom and dad.

Speaking of mom and dad, here they were right after we arrived at the hotel:

Mom and Dad knocked out from the trip

They’re really the perfect paper-writing companions. As you can see, I don’t have much of a problem asking them to leave me alone 😀 I unpacked our stuff in the most OC way and fled the scene to scout the area.

We were billeted in The Suites because The Manor was full. But this hotel was equally world-class:

Here’s the very relaxing lobby area:

and how it looks from outside:

The hotel experience was so wonderful that I’d go back when I could afford it. I was surprised to find out later that they give a 50% discount during the yearly rainy season, so that’s probably my chance!

I went to the proverbial Mile-Hi, where I spent the rest of that afternoon and where we would eat most of our meals during this trip. The Manor’s restaurant, Le Chef, is very famous but the prices are beyond us. Mile-Hi and the Filling Station (farther down the road) were our meal stops.

We wanted to try Chocolate de Batirol but it wasn’t open when we went 😦

And to take advantage of the relaxing air in Baguio, I went around taking photos of the scenery:

We also visited two churches:

1. Baguio Cathedral

2. St. Joseph Church

And the thesis? No photos. But it doesn’t mean I didn’t get anything done 😛

Not a lot of us have money to travel, and when we do get to save some money, the best that we could do is to travel on a budget. I’m not new to budget traveling, so I hope that this article will help give ideas to budget travelers like me.

You can save on all travel expenses except for the airfare and Schengen VISA fee. Now let’s go straight to making your Rome experience cheap but memorable.

Save on accommodation. Although we opted for a budget hotel, it wasn’t that bad at all. We appreciated the breakfast served everyday which saved us a bunch. Going to a budget hotel (like Hotel Luciani) is probably worth the convenience and the breakfast. After a long walk around Rome, you’d want to go home and sleep on comfortable beds and having not to worry about what to have for breakfast. This hotel is perfect if you are 3 or 4 persons to share the room cost. What’s best too about this hotel is that it’s extremely near Roma Termini. WiFi is for 5 Euros though but that will last you the whole trip and you could share with the others though you can’t go online at the same time. Befriend the Filipino manager, and you might get this for free. 🙂 Or you may try Couch Surfing. It requires that you agree to allow another couch surfer your own couch when he visits Manila. It’s practically free. Like asking a friend to make you stay at his place for a few days.

Sightseeing and Museums. Rome is actually very small. You can walk from one sight to another literally. It is very normal for a Roman to walk at most an hour to get from A to B. You don’t normally need to pay to enter the amazing Churches in Rome. You just have to brave the long lines at St. Peter’s Basilica, but it’s not as long a wait as it may appear. If you want to see all the art collections in Rome, the only museum you should pay for is the Vatican Museum. Save yourself time by buying your ticket online although it will charge you an extra 4 Euros for the service. We overtook a really long line because of this. Then again, you might want to save 4 Euros for your lunch that day. 🙂 Take my word for it, you can just walk around Rome. On each day, you can focus on an area so you don’t go all around. Here’s a suggested itinerary for 3 days walking tour:

That’s me in front of the Colosseo. No need to go inside and save on entrance fee!

Day 2: Southeast of Rome (Passion of the Christ tour) – Santa Maria Maggiore (relics of the true Cross), St. John Lateran, Scala Santa (stairs that claim to have drops of Christ’s blood), Santa Croce en Jerusalem (relics from Calvary), Santa Prassede (relic of the pilar where Christ was scourged), relax at a park

Throw a coin over to the Trevi Fountain and wish to come to Rome. It worked for me. 🙂

Transportation. Rome bus and subway systems is difficult to figure out compared to Singapore’s, New York’s or Madrid’s. It might take a while for you to figure out and maximize your unlimited ticket. But if you are willing, the ATAC Rome metro system offers one day unlimited (only up to 12 MN) for 4 Euros, and 3 days for 11 Euros.

Side trips outside Rome. Our group was able to visit Florence. If you want to save on your Florence trip, purchase your train ticket ahead of time. If you do so, you might be lucky to get a MINI fare which can save you up to 60% off on regular fares. We chose to take the nonstop train (1 hour) to Florence to save time for 45 Euros and took a regular train (3.5 hours) for 17 Euros. You can get cheaper prices as well for Milan and Venice. Florence is a cheap place to go to for the art lover and can be a day trip. You can go around Florence for just half a day. The other half you can spend absorbing the art and a bit of shopping. Don’t miss out on San Lorenzo market (5 minutes walk to the west of Santa Maria Novella train station) where you can buy authentic leather goods and various souvenirs. Don’t miss out on buying Florence stationeries which they are also famous for. For better quality paper and bookmarks, visit Mandragoragift shop behind the Duomo. They sell wax seals, Florence stationeries and various bookmarks at affordable prices. Making side trips, the best place to stay is near Roma Termini so even if you come home late, your hotel is just nearby. You don’t have to pay 6,50 Euros to see Michelangelo’s David. There is a replica at Palazzio Vecchio. 🙂

My friends in front of the San Lorenzo Church with its unfinished facade. Across is the San Lorenzo Market.

Tour guides. No, don’t pay for a tour guide. There are many audio tours you can get online before making your trip. Better for you to already be informed before going to the places so that when you get there, all you have to do is admire. It’s difficult to study or listen to a podcast while you’re staring at ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Since you studied ahead, you look forward to seeing the places in real life. You can download some maps and audio here.

Save on drinking water. When we visited Rome, it was summer and dry. With that weather, we were easily thirsty and hot-headed. Bring your water bottle. There are many water fountains that you can find along the way to fill your bottle with water. Just make sure it’s potable. Don’t get your water from fountains like the Trevi fountain. 🙂 Also, drinks from vendo machines are much cheaper (by a Euro) than buying from a person. 🙂

I also would like to share some generic travel tips that will save you the hassle as you try to enjoy your trip outside your country.

Check-in Online. Usually, 36 hours before your flight, you can “check-in” online. This has saved so much time when checking-in. For online checkers, they usually have a fast lane for you and you will skip the generic queue and you can choose your seat ahead of the rest.

Use your credit card. Using your credit card (I assume that you pay your bills on time), can buy you time to save money before actually paying for your train ticket or museum ticket. Above all, it saves you time from lining up most of the time.

Travel light. Budget hotels are found in old buildings, and does not necessarily have an elevator like in the case of Hotel Luciani. Don’t expect a first class treatment in a budget hotel. Remember always that you get what you pay for.

Always have a map.

I definitely enjoyed my trip despite being on a tight budget. I hope you do too! Rome is one big museum as others would say. You shouldn’t have to pay so much just to see the beauty of Rome. Appreciate the art. Appreciate the role of the Catholic Church in taking care of what’s left of Ancient, Medieval, and Renaissance Rome. The Church only wants to keep a record of the greatness of man — a record of man’s ability to create, which is a gift from his Creator.

Some friends and I went to Green Thumb farm in Tagaytay for an outing. Here are some shots from my camera phone. The gerberas were especially charming! The trip was very educational, as one of the caretakers answered our questions about how these flowers are grown. If you’re looking for a fruitful outing with family and friends, a trip like this is a great idea.